Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest Fire Fighter Receives National Award
Ray Johnson, Fire Prevention Technician on Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest’s Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, was recently awarded the 2017 Bronze Smokey Bear Award. Johnson received this award for the work accomplished during his 24-year career educating the public about the dangers, causes, and prevention measures associated with wildland fire.
“In the world of wildfire prevention, receiving a Smokey Bear award is a huge honor,” said Carrie Thaler, Spring Mountains National Recreation Area Fire Management Officer. “Ray has been instrumental over the last several years helping to get fire prevention messaging out to communities across southern Nevada. He has helped to foster several generations of land stewards and his work has helped prevent countless wildfires.”
Johnson has worked in fire prevention and fire information on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest for 18 years and six years with the National Park Service before that. He visited over 50 Southern Nevada public schools in 2016 and 2017 to share fire safety and prevention messages, reaching around 8,000 first and second graders. Johnson has spoken to nearly 100,000 kids during his career. He has also conducted countless television, radio, and newspaper interviews and has worked with Spanish speaking media outlets to share the fire prevention message with the local Hispanic community.
Since 1957, the National Smokey Bear Awards Program (https://smokeybear.com/en/awards) has recognized organizations and individuals for outstanding service with significant program impact in wildfire prevention. The awards are presented by the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention Program and is sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service, the National Association of State Foresters, and the Ad Council.
Visit the visit the Living With Fire website: https://analytics.twitter.com/user/HumboldtToiyabe/home to learn more about how to live more safely with the threat of wildfire.
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